https://independent-magazine.org/2019/12/27/montreal-international-documentary-festival-ridm-2019-recap/
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Evan Crean is a film critic in Boston and a founding member of the Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA). He is co-author of the book Your ‘80s Movie Guide to Better Living and co-hosts the weekly movie podcast Spoilerpiece Theatre. He is also a Contributing Editor for NewEnglandFilm.com and the marketing director for Boston Reel, a site dedicated to Boston’s independent film culture.
Questions about gender, identity, and territory were prominent themes at the 22nd annual Montreal International Documentary Film Festival (RIDM), Quebec’s only all-documentary film festival. These thought-provoking motifs were on brand for a festival that showed a diverse lineup of 154 works from 47 different countries, and achieved gender parity for the third consecutive year with… Read more »
What does loyalty mean when someone must choose between their job, their country, and their marriage? Gavin Hood’s film Official Secrets, explores this treacherous question in nerve-wracking depth. The film tells the true story of Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley), a British government employee that gave information to the media about a secret NSA plot in 2003… Read more »
The Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF), the festival that boasts “Cutting-edge films—and films with a cutting edge,” celebrated 21 years this year, by continuing its rich tradition of delivering the some of the most unique underground films from all over the world to Boston cinephiles. Taking place over five jam-packed days at the Brattle Theatre… Read more »
This year marked a banner year for the 21st annual Montreal International Documentary Film Festival (RIDM), Quebec’s only all-documentary film festival. Not only did it register a 6% increase in ticket sales, but it also saw a 54% increase in sold out screenings over its run from November 8-18, 2018. The sprawling festival, which screened… Read more »
Sorry to Bother You marks Oakland-bred rapper Boots Riley’s directorial debut, but don’t underestimate his film credentials because he comes from the music world. Before he was the lead vocalist for the hip hop groups, The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club, Riley attended film school, and since then, he has applied the same hip… Read more »
Eighth Grade; Bo Burnham; USA, 2018; 94 min Eighth Grade—comedian Bo Burnham’s big screen directorial debut—isn’t the kind of first film one would expect from him. Instead of sticking to comedy, Burnham branches out with a coming-of-age drama that chronicles a shy teen’s final weeks of eighth grade. That doesn’t mean Burnham’s film is laugh… Read more »
Revenge; Coralie Fargeat; France, 2017; 108 min Both a satisfying film about a woman seeking bloody retribution for her rape, and a scathing commentary about men who cover up the horrific acts of other men. Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge is an emotionally challenging, yet gripping feature-length directorial debut that displays terrifying isolation, graphic violence, and mankind’s… Read more »
The Room—one of the most notorious cult films of all time—is a movie seared into filmgoers’ consciousness by the utterly unique vision of its enigmatic writer, director, and star Tommy Wiseau. Its production was a disaster, famously documented in co-star Greg Sestero’s tell-all book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad… Read more »
Kumail Nanjiani has appeared in numerous films and television shows in bit parts over the last 10 years, but the comedian (best-known as the awkward developer Dinesh on HBO’s Silicon Valley) is finally assuming a lead role with The Big Sick, a semi-autobiographical, romantic comedy that Nanjiani co-wrote with his wife Emily V. Gordon. The film, directed… Read more »
In their song that immortalized the 1992 Los Angeles riots, “April 29th, 1992,” Sublime sang, “There was a riot on the streets, tell me, where were you?” Korean American filmmaker Justin Chon and his family can say exactly where they were—Chon’s father was busy defending the family business from rioters. These childhood memories inspired Chon’s… Read more »